New Growth
by Bulldust
Summary: She was a free spirited Scout without responsibilities. He was a dutiful, hard working Beta who put the pack's needs before his own. A fire burned through their territory and changed their lives forever.


The coming of late summer gave the land no mercy, the sun's light scorching the earth each day. It had been quite some time since it had rained in the rolling foothills of the pack territory. The only source of moisture came from the drying streams that criss-crossed the plains, and from the looming, heavy clouds overhead. It was a rather spacious territory for a quite humble pack. There was little competition for food or space, and loners were often accepted into the pack, so long as they did their part to benefit the whole.

One of these loners-turned-pack mates was a gray she wolf, romping around in the drying mud with a couple of half year old pups.

"Ava! Ava! Over here!" One of the pups chanted as he danced around, squealing with joy when a pair of bigger paws plodded into the mud, narrowly missing him. The rest of the litter barked with joy as the older wolf jumped about with them, splattering mud every which way. A particularly wet blob of dirt flung behind the she wolf, and a bark of surprise sounded out.

Immediately the pups dropped their tails and scurried away, and Ava gave a soft sigh as she turned around to face a very disgruntled Beta, with bits of earth clinging to his ear. "Scout." He gave a curt grunt. "Have you given your scouting report to the Alpha Pair yet."

Ava blew a snort between her teeth, "Ya know you don't have to call me by my rank, Ava is fine. We're not like a kongeriket. And no, I was _sidetracked_."

Three heads popped up behind the Beta, and the older male gave a strained growl, "Its past sun high, and you still haven't even finished scouting the territory. Instead of tracking the herds you decide to spend your afternoon playing with a handful of the Leaders' pups?"

"You know, you're a real stick in the mud Horridus, figuratively," she stood on her back legs and swatted away the remaining mud on the male's ears with a paw, "and literally." Horridus gave an indignant sputter as Ava looked behind him towards the pups, "Hey Tomto, can you do me a favor and tell you dad the herd is in the southeast?"

"Yes ma'am!" the pup barked and then scurried away towards the woodlands in the north, thunder rolling overhead.

Horridus gave a growling sigh of mingled frustration and resignation, "Ava, you can't expect to push all your work onto the pups. If their parents got wind of you slacking off-"

"It's fine Horridus, really. I trust Tomto to know what to say. He is the leaders' son, remember? He can handle it." Ava stepped away from the moist streambed and laid down on the dry grass, licking her paws. Horridus stood over the nonchalant she wolf with a strained look.

"Him learning the ways of the pack is one thing, but it's an entirely different scenario for you to make him do your work. You are not a pup, you are an adult, abled member of this pack, and if you want to stay you have to act like one."

"Oh I'll definitely act like one soon as winter rolls around" Ava rolled onto her back for emphasis, "I'll have all the males swooning just like last year."

Horridus was trying very hard to keep his stoic composure and holding back the urge to bite the younger scout. "Laka knows we don't want another wreck like last winter. Nothing got done. I find myself surprised every spring to see you not denning yourself."

Ava gave a wry grin, "Oh don't get me wrong, I like pups, but I can't be caught with a family that easily. Males are fun, but they tie you down."

Horridus wasn't listening. His ears were perked, and he swung his head towards the woodlands, where Tomto and the rest of the pack were lying. The scent of smoke answered Ava's question before she said it aloud, and she was on her feet. The Beta turned toward the now shaking pups and pushed them toward the Scout, "Go, follow Ava across the stream, and make it fast."

The pups were quick to bolt to the she wolf and tumbled into her forelegs. She shuffled back a bit towards the stream when she saw the Beta loping toward the trees. "Wait! Where are you going!"

The male skidded to a halt just for a second to give a sharp reply, "I have to go to the pack!"

Before the she wolf could call him back the male was already charging towards the woods, and flames began to lick the tree tops.

"Is he alright?" The usually perky wolf was soft spoken as she stepped up next to the older wolf.

The male looked at the Scout over his shoulder, and turned grave eyes back to the ailing wolf at the other side of the pack. "Beta Horridus was badly wounded in the fire, I'm sure my son told you what happened." Ava gave a grim nod, remembering everything from the previous day.

While Tomto had been running back to the pack to tell the Alphas where the herd was located, a bolt of lightning had struck a tree. The fire was quick to spread, and it scared the pup to no end and he lost his way in the blaze. Horridus had managed to locate and guide him back to the route of safety, but had gotten trapped under a burning tree that had fallen. The pack couldn't pull his body out until the flames died down.

Ava sat down beside the brooding Alpha. "Will he make it Samr?"

Samr was silent for a moment, before he breathed a deep sigh from his nose and shook his head. "His whole body is covered in arrays of burns, his survival is uncertain. I do know one thing for sure, he can no longer be a Beta." Ava was about to reply when Samr carried on, "His back and legs are badly damaged, having him hunt and travel is out of the question. He may not even be able to walk, let alone be the Beta we need."

The she wolf was silent, and the Alpha stood up, "That's all I'm willing to share for the moment. The reason I called you here was to give you your new orders." He looked she wolf in the eye and made his tone serious. "Take care of him, for however long he has left." With those words the Alpha Male left, leaving Ava sitting alone watching the scorched wolf from a distance. After a few moments she rose to her feet and walked quietly to the ailing male, and laid down beside him.

Over the last several weeks, Horridus grew more distant with his pack mates. He didn't have a mate or other family to visit him, and after a few days the pack had left him be. With each passing day the ex Beta closed more of himself off, refusing to move and soon eat. It hurt Ava deep down to see the once resilient, stubborn wolf reduced to a wounded creature in one fell swoop. The she wolf was tasked to stay by the male's side, and help him any way she could.

The pair had been lying in the shrublands, lying low for almost a month as the burned wolf healed. The rest of the pack would bring them meals whenever they managed to catch anything.

It was up to the Scout to keep Horridus safe. Bears, coyotes, and even other wolves could find him easy prey and snuff the life out of the injured wolf, but Ava knew better. The true danger that harmed Horridus was his mental state.

After hours of silence the she wolf rose her head and turned to the male, "Hey, I'm gonna grab a drink, do you want me to bring you back some water?" No reply. "It really is no trouble, I could find an old skull and carry it back." She wasn't expecting an answer; he stopped talking a few days ago.

She stretched out her legs and then bounded towards a nearby stream, trying her best to make it look like she wasn't hurting as well. She stepped into the water, and instead of drinking she just watched her reflection. Tired, sad green eyes stared back at her, and something else. An idea popped in her head, and she went into action.

A few moments later she was back from the stream, carrying something in her jaws. She trotted up to the still male and plopped something right in front of him. Unfocused eyes cleared a tad, confusion evident in those somber depths, before he twitched in surprise as the frog leaped over his head.

Ava gave a bark of laughter, and Horridus gave a sigh.

"These leaves look so nice today, don't they Horridus?" Ava gave a happy sigh as she watched golden leaves flutter from the tree tops.

Horridus raised his head from where he was resting, and gave a quiet replied, "They are just leaves. I see them every autumn."

"But isn't it amazing how all that summer green can make so many wonderful colors." Ava gave the male a cheery smile, and Horridus gave an insufferable sigh, "I suppose to you everything is amazing."

Ava gave no reply, but kicked some leaves in his face.

The first snowfall of the season left the pups dumbstruck, and Ava was worried that Tomto's jaw would freeze to the ground. "Its snow pups, we get snow every year. Here, watch this." The pups watched as the she wolf tensed up, staring at the sky, before launching into the air and catching a snowflake. The pups were bouncing with excitement at the prospect that snow was edible, and they pranced around the clearing trying to catch as many as they could.

Ava gave a light laughed and trotted back to where Horridus was sitting. The older wolf gave a low grumble, "They should be with the rest of the pack, and learning to hunt. Not chasing snowflakes."

"Have a little fun, won't you? They're still pups." Ava gave the other wolf a warm smile, "They only have a few months of pup hood left, let them have fun." Horridus sighed but didn't reply, and they both watched the pups play.

"I thought you'd be spending your winter messing with the males, not walking with a cripple."

Ava gave a snort and gently nudged Horridus with her nose, "Don't be so depreciating, you know I would never pass up the chance to get under your fur."

"Well, with half my hair gone, it shouldn't be hard for you," the male quipped back.

The duo continued light jabs and bickerings as they made their casual stroll through the frozen woodlands. The older wolf had a bad hobble and a straining limp, and he slipped on the snow once or twice. The she wolf offered him a shoulder and a steady pace. If one of them stumbled, neither of them spoke of it.

"Listen up yearlings! I'm only going to say this once."

The trio of yearlings stood at attention, ears perked and tails low. Before them stood Horridus, his dense winter coat flaking off in the warm spring breeze. "You are no longer pups anymore. From now on you are adults, and should act like adults. The Alpha Pair have a new litter and they need all the food they can get. Your orders: scout the territory for any carcasses or prey, and bring it back to the den."

Horridus's face was stony and serious, but the yearlings' faces were a mixture of concealed mirth. The older wolf glowered, and turned around to see Ava making facing behind him. The trio burst out laughing and then bolted off when Horridus swung around to snap at them.

The scarred wolf gave a low growl and turned back to the still grinning she wolf, "Why must you always do this?"

"It's part of my job description," the she wolf trotted up and gave a thwap of her tail onto his unburned shoulder. The older wolf gave her a tail slap in return, and they both made their ascent back to the woodlands to the rest of the pack. The trees still had remnants of char and ash, but with the coming of spring, new life sprung in the forest. And something a little more.

Author's Note: In one of my earliest short stories for WolfQuest, I had one called "Leaving" with Horridus and Ava. This is the beginning of their story, of when their relationship changed from packmates to lovers.

Also, I recently bought the 2019 Lion King movie and I love it. There's tons of critics out there about it, but I really do enjoy it.

If you want to have a better expierence reading and get to know more about the lore of my characters, visit my amino profile here: /c/wolfquest/page/user/bulldust-is-busy/JJBm_EXI0fV7pM6J5dJ8mmDxL8BerXB6dWHm


End file.
